Utiliser un nettoyant pour freins pour nettoyer la chaîne d'une moto ? Arrêtez tout de suite !

Never take brake disc cleaning agent to spray your motorcycle chain! This thing looks like a “universal decontamination artifact”, but it is actually an invisible killer of chain seals. The high concentration of acetone, heptane and chloride will quickly penetrate and dissolve the nitrile rubber (NBR) core in the oil seal chain (whether it is an O-ring or an X-ring). Once the rubber ring is scrapped, the wear-resistant grease inside will run clean. As a result, ride a few hundred kilometers and your chain will fall apart completely from the inside out.

What did the brake cleaner do

You know, brake cleaning agent was invented purely to deal with the hard steel brake disc on the sintered carbon scale and hydraulic oil. It should never have appeared near the fragile rubber transmission parts.

15-Minute O-Ring Expansion Test

The brake cleaner will make the rubber seal ring “fat” instantly “. We did a special test: remove a standard 520 specification X-ring from a used chain and throw it into a bottle cap filled with chlorine-free brake cleaner. After only 15 minutes, the diameter of this circle has soared by 34%. It completely lost its tensile strength. We only used less than 2 pounds of strength to pull it and it broke. Imagine if this happened in your car and the seal swelled like this, you 1 twist the throttle and the friction from the metal side plates instantly crushes the rubber into crumbs.

Traps Set By Capillary Phenomena

Many car repairers like to use “this thing volatilizes quickly and cannot hurt the chain” to defend the brake cleaner. Big mistake, capillary phenomenon minutes to hit the face of this statement. The tiny gap between the chain side plate and the rubber ring is like a vacuum cleaner. When you spray the spray can at the chain, the liquid solvent is sucked in along the sealing lip before it can volatilize. The solvent held in it will directly melt away that layer of internal pin grease that should have been in the tube for a lifetime. After washing, your chain looks shiny on the surface, but it has long been a purgatory for metal grinding.

The “3-S” Rule of Chain Maintenance

Stop guessing what chemicals are safe. Directly apply the “3-S” rule we summarized to get the safety maintenance of any oil seal chain.

Solvents (Solvent-chemical compatibility): Old and practical fatty hydrocarbon stuff. They can easily remove oil stains and at the same time have no damage to the rubber polymer. Kerosene is the world’s recognized benchmark. As for ketones (such as acetone in brake cleaning agents), they must definitely be blacklisted.

Sealing ring (Seal-physical friction): cleaning depends on physical brushing, don’t always think about chemical dissolution. Spend tens of dollars to buy a chain brush, you can easily brush off the mud and sand, and you don’t have to worry about stuffing the corrosive liquid through the rubber sealing ring.

Protection (Shield-Water Dispelling and Lubrication): Remember, freshly washed chains are the most prone to rust. After washing, a special layer of chain wax or gear oil must be applied immediately to prevent flash rust on bare metal rollers.

Three cheap and safe alternatives

There is really no need to spend dozens of dollars to buy that small 1 cans of “motorcycle-specific” chain cleaner. Just find a hardware store or gas station and buy the following kinds of goods, which are not only cheap, but also safe for thieves.

1. Kerosene (Kerosene)

In the motorcycle chain cleaning world, kerosene is the eternal god. Whether it is DID or RK, all major mainstream chain manufacturers name and recommend it in their maintenance manuals. It can dissolve heavy oil stains very quickly, and it can leave a thin layer of anti-rust film after washing. Moreover, 1 large barrel (1 gallons) costs tens of dollars, which is full of cost performance.

2. WD-40

For O-rings, the WD-40 is very safe. Its main component is also a safe aliphatic hydrocarbon, which is a mild degreased agent. Although it is a disaster to use it as chain oil (the speed is 1 fast and all flies away), if it is only used to break down the old chain wax and dirt, it is definitely a good hand.

3. Diesel

The chemical temper of diesel and kerosene is similar. It itself with a little oily, decontamination ability is very strong, and the nitrile rubber sealing ring is 100% safe. Find a small box and pour it out a little. Just dip a special brush in it. Pour a small amount into a plastic container and apply it to the chain with a dedicated brush.

Chemical	Safe for O-Rings?	Cost per Ounce	Pouvoir dégraissant
Nettoyant pour freins	No	$0.50	Extrême
Kérosène	Yes	$0.08	Haut
WD-40	Yes	$0.40	Moyen
Dedicated Chain Cleaner	Yes	$1.20	Haut

3-minute non-destructive cleaning guide

Get rid of all those corrosive spray cans. Go this way, fast and safe.

Hot Chain: Take a 5-minute ride around the block. The hot sludge breaks down more than twice as fast as it does in the cold.

Put on kerosene: support the car frame. Spray or brush kerosene on the lower half of the chain while turning the rear wheel by hand. (Remember: Don’t start the car in gear to wash it. Don’t do it if you want your fingers!)

Brush off the sediment: Take a three-sided chain brush and dry it against the dirt on the rollers and side panels. Just give the dirty work to the bristles.

Dry: Find a clean microfiber cloth, or a thick industrial paper towel. Hold the chain tightly and turn the wheel to wipe off all the dirty solvent.

Oil immediately: while the metal is still warm, hit the chain oil you usually use on the inside of the chain.

FAQ

No O-Ring Chain, Can Use Brake Cleaning Agent?

It works, but I strongly advise you not to use it. Although the chain without oil seal (such as the kind on retro cars or off-road vehicles) has no rubber ring to destroy, the brake cleaner will clean the grease on the metal surface. If you don’t give it a hard coat of oil right away, it will give rise to a layer of rust in a few hours.

What Is The Cheapest And Safe Flat Cleaning Agent?

Definitely kerosene. To buy a 1 gallon of kerosene, usually not much money, enough for you to normally maintain the chain for 3 years, cost-effective no one.

Will WD-40 Destroy My Chain?

No, it won’t. Extensive long-term testing has long demonstrated that WD-40 neither penetrate nor swell O-rings. It is very reliable to use it as a cleaning agent. But after washing, you must spray serious chain oil. Because the WD-40 will volatilize itself, it can’t play a lubricating role at high speed riding.

If You Accidentally Use The Brake Cleaning Agent, Can The Chain Be Rescued?

It’s hopeless. Once the O-ring has suffered chemical damage, such as rubber expansion, cracking or slag, you must replace it with the front and back discs and chains. Don’t loathe to give up this money, or the chain will break on the high speed.

Carburetor Cleaning Agent Wash Chain Safe?

Don’t even think about it, absolutely not! Carburetor cleaners contain solvents (such as methyl ethyl ketone or toluene) that are similar to brake cleaners, or even more ferocious. It can melt it 1 touching the seal ring and bite off a piece of the paint on your rear rocker arm.

That “Chlorine-Free” Brake Cleaning Agent Will Not Hurt The Rubber Ring?

According to the injury is not wrong. Chlorine-free brake cleaners are nothing more than replacing chlorinated solvents with equally fierce chemicals like acetone and heptane. For the nitrile (NBR) rubber used in the motorcycle transmission system, the destructive power is the same as the destructive level.